MasukNILAHThe old brick building across the road was no longer dark and empty. The brown paper that used to cover the dusty display windows had been removed weeks ago. On the second floor, behind a large, clean glass window, sat a long, plain wooden desk.And behind that desk sat Darien.He was there right now. He was sitting in a high-backed dark chair, wearing a simple gray sweater. He had a black laptop open in front of him, and his fingers were moving across the keys. A small white ceramic cup sat near his right hand.He was looking down at his computer screen. He did not wave. He did not stare at me through the glass. He was just... there.Every single day for twenty-eight days, Darien had been sitting in that exact chair.He arrived at six o'clock in the morning, before the pale sun even rose over the snowy mountains. He stayed in that room all day long, working on his papers and typing on his computer. When the sun went down at five o'clock and the streetlights turned on, he was st
DARIENThe heavy silence inside the greenhouse felt thicker than the humid air rising off the damp potting soil.Nilah stood five feet away down the stone gravel aisle, her back pressed flat against the wooden potting table. Her dark eyes were wide, filled with a terrifying mix of raw panic and deep, ancient grief. The small velvet box sat open on the edge of the bench between us, the tiny gold wedding ring gleaming under the soft yellow lights.I was trembling violently. My shoulders felt heavy and crushed under my plain wool coat, and I could feel hot tears burning down my hollow cheeks. I was standing in front of her completely bare—no bodyguards, no guns, no power—just a man begging for his life.Between us, resting on the dark wood, sat the only piece of our past she hadn't destroyed."Nilah, please," I rasped out, my voice shaking so violently it barely sounded like my own. "Don't look at me like that. Tell me what I have to do. Tell me how many years I have to spend on my knees
DARIENThe air in the greenhouse was heavy and warm, smelling of damp soil and wet ferns, but every breath I took felt like inhaling broken glass.Nilah stood five feet away from me, her back pressed flat against the wooden potting table. Her dark eyes were wide, filled with a terrifying mix of raw panic and deep, ancient grief. The small velvet box sat open on the edge of the bench between us, the tiny gold wedding ring gleaming under the soft yellow lights.She was trembling violently. Her knuckles were white where her fingers gripped the edge of the dark wood behind her back."Don't," she had whispered to me moments ago.I took half a step backward, raising both of my hands slowly, keeping my palms completely open and visible in the quiet air between us. I wanted her to see my bare skin. I wanted her to see that I carried no weapons, no heavy gold rings, no threats."I'm stepping back, Nilah," I said, my voice raw and cracking down the middle. "Look at my hands. I'm not moving any
NilahThe warm, humid air inside the greenhouse was completely still.I stood halfway down the center aisle, holding the long silver spout of the watering can over a row of potted ferns. The clean water trickled down into the dark soil, soaking into the soft green fronds. The simple, rhythmic sound was the only thing filling the space, steady and calm.Then, the front brass bell rang violently.It was not the soft chime that came when Clara opened the door for a customer. It was a loud, harsh slam of metal against metal that rattled the glass panels in their frames.I froze. The silver spout tipped slightly in my hands, sending a stream of water splashing over the edge of the wooden bench and straight across the toes of my heavy leather boots.I didn't turn around immediately. My heart gave a single, violent thud against my ribs, and the cold, familiar knot of fear tightened deep in my gut."Nilah!"The voice tore through the quiet air like a jagged blade.My breath caught in my throa
DARIENI sat in the front passenger seat of a plain, unbadged dark sedan as it bounced over the cracked asphalt of Main Street. The heater blew dry, hot air against my legs, but the chill in my bones hadn't left since we crossed the county line two hours ago.Marko kept both hands at ten and two on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the narrow road ahead."The local timber mill owners are already waiting at the diner near the north intersection," Marko said, his voice steady over the hum of the tires. "They are nervous, boss. Oakridge hasn't seen a commercial buy-out of this size in twenty years. They think a city corporation is coming in to shut down their docks and liquidate the land.""Let them be nervous," I said, my voice low and dry. "It makes the negotiations shorter. Show them the audit sheets, offer them ten percent above market value for the timber access, and guarantee their workers' contracts for three years. I don't want a fight today, Marko. I just want the contract s
NILAHSix months had passed since the afternoon I fled the quiet docks of Port Haven.Six long, exhausting months of living like a ghost. I had taken endless regional buses, walked miles along quiet dirt roads, and slept in drafty rooms, always moving before anyone could learn my face or ask for my name.Now, I stood in the middle of a wide glass greenhouse, holding a small silver watering can over a long wooden table filled with damp green soil.The air inside the glass house was warm, thick, and humid. It smelled deeply of rich black earth, wet leaves, and blooming white jasmine. Outside the high glass panels, the jagged peaks of the mountains surrounding the small border town of Oakridge were topped with fresh white snow. But in here, surrounded by rows of vibrant green ferns and flowering pots, the freezing mountain wind could not touch me.I tipped the silver spout forward, watching the clean water trickle softly into the dark soil around a small pot of red begonias."Make sure y
NILAHThe silence in the grand ballroom was loud, it felt heavier than the rain that had ruined my car hours ago, making my head spin as I tried to process what my father had just blurted out from the podium.Hundreds of eyes shifted from my father, following his proud gaze, until they locked direc
Nilah povAt exactly five the dress arrived.I stood in my childhood bedroom staring at it for a full minute before I even dared to touch it.Midnight blue, floor length with a neckline that dipped just low enough to say ‘I know exactly what I’m doing’ and a slit that climbed too high up on one thi
Nilah’s povWhat the hell had I done?I sat in my car, staring at the mansion I had once called home, the perfectly trimmed garden stretched towards a fountain. Everything was just as I had remembered.Beautiful, warm, and inviting.My phone buzzed with a text from a number I didn't recognize. “The
Darien’s povThe Bentley’s engine purred as I drove through the rain-slicked street, and my phone buzzed for the umpteenth time in less than five minutes. I knew it was my mother no doubt, definitely calling to remind me about her ‘wonderful opportunity’ dinner she had arranged next week.“Don’t th







